Oil lubricated hydraulic powered concrete pump



M. SMITH 3,295,452

OI L LUBRICATED HYDRAULIC POWERED CONCRETE PUMP Jan. 3, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 m mm v INVENTOR Max L. Sm/fh -1211 Aug. 15, 1966 ATTORNEY M. L. SMITH 3,295,452

OIL LUBRICATED HYDRAULIC POWERED CONCRETE PUMP Jan. 3, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 15, 1966 INVENTOR Max L Smi/h QQN ATTORNEY Jan. 3, 1967 3,295,452-

,OIL LUBRICATED HYDRAULIC POWERED CONCRETE PUMP M. L. SMITH 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug. 15, 1966 $2 5 8% E 55mm mm cm 0 wm bit mssq wsw Mimi qt INVENTOR Max L. Sm/fh ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,295,452 OIL LUBRICATED HYDRAULIC POWERED CONCRETE PUMP Max L. Smith, West Palm Beach, Fla., assignor to Burnup and Sims, Inc., West Palm Beach, Fla., a corporation of Florida Filed Aug. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 572,413 18 Claims. (Cl. 103-49) This application is a continuation-in-part of a patent on a Hydraulic Powered Mobile Concrete Pump Assembly, No. 3,279,383 of October 18, 1966, application filed January 6, 1965, Serial No. 423,798.

In such previous patent, the assembly includes a concrete pumping piston that is lubricated in its cylinder by a new supply of water being injected at each pumping stroke.

It is an object of this invention to provide an oil lubrication system for such concrete pumping system and its cylinder.

A further object of this invention is to utilize the electrical controls of the assembly of the previous patent so as to inject a metered amount of lubrication into the concrete pumping cylinder at the extreme retracted position of the pump piston.

A further object of this invention is to provide a lubricant absorbing and wiping piston ring on the pumping piston which will absorb the lubricant when injected at its retracted position and then lubricate and provide a film of oil on the inside of the cylinder during its stroke.

A further object of this invention is to use a cycle of pressure already existing the assembly of the previous patent for cycling an injection of lubricant or oil into the cylinder when the piston is at the injection port located at the retracted position.

A still further object of this invention is to improve the construction, operation and life of the assembly of the previous patent.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide an improved modification of the assembly of the previous patent by providing oil lubrication for the concrete pumping piston and cylinder, instead of water lubrication.

In brief, this invention is an improvement over the previous patent by utilizing a fluid lubricant such as oil in place of the water used for lubricating the concrete pumping cylinder and piston of the previous patent. Except for such water lubrication of the concrete pumping cylinder and piston of the previous patent, all other details of construction and operation are included by reference in this disclosure, as will hereinafter become apparent, and where the details of construction andoperation are identical, the reference numbers of the previous patent are used herein. The vehicle on which the pump of this disclosure is mounted, may be readily mobile, such as a motor truck, or a skid, or even a framework and power source at a comparatively fixed location, for the essence of this invention is not related to the mobility of the vehicle on which it is mounted. The pumping system of this improvement is hydraulically operated and the hydraulic fluid used in the pumping system may be a lubricant, such as oil, and it is such lubricating hydraulic fluid that is preferably, but not necessarily, used for lubricating the concrete pumping cylinder and piston, but if desired, 'a separate lubricant supply reservoir may be provided, thus not depleting the hydraulic fluid reservoir. Furthermore, a pressure feed lubricant pump is used wherein the amount of lubricant dispensed into "ice the concrete pump cylinder is metered, and in addition, the size of the lubricant feeding chamber in the lubricant pump is readily adjustable to adjust the amount of lubricant that is dispensed into the concrete pump cylinder. In the lubricant pump, there is provided a floating piston with a lubricant chamber on one side of the floating piston connected by one-way valves from a lubricant supply source to the concrete pumping cylinder at the retracted position of the concrete sucking and pumping piston therein, and a pressure chamber on the other side of the floating piston which is connected to an existing pressure cycling means of the previous patent to cycle the lubricant into the concrete pump cylinder at the proper time when the piston therein is at the retracted position at which position the lubricant entry port is located.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pair of concrete pumping cylinders and piston of this invention, partly broken away, and corresponding to FIG. 7 of the previous patent.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on line 2- 2 of FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view'on line 33 of FIG. 2, on a similarly enlarged scale.

FIG. 4 is a sectional detail on line 4-4 of FIG. 3, on a still larger scale.

FIG. 5 is an end elevational view of the oiler block.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view on line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the circulation of the hydraulic pressure and the oiling fluid, correspond ing to FIG. 12 of the previous patent.

As brought out above, the disclosure of the previous patent is incorporated by reference in this disclosure, and such parts of the previous patent as are shown here that are identical in construction and operation are set forth with the identical reference numbers, while the improved, novel details are referred to by reference numbers com- 'mencing at 200.

There is shown here at 200 a lubricant or oiler pressure feed pump block by means of which a lubricant such as oil, which may or may not be the same fluid asthat provided in the hydraulic fluid oil reservoir 36 even though, as herein shown, the oil supply conduit 202 is connected through filters 146 to the hydraulic pressure fluid reservoir 36. Obviously, if desired, the oil supply conduit may be connected to an independent source of supply of oil, in which case, the fluid in the pressure fluid reservoir need not be the same oil'or fluid. Inasmuch as the concrete pump and piston is a twin pumping system wherein there are two complete concrete pumps which may be set to operate alternately or simultaneously, or

either without the other, the disclosure here likewise shows 'a similar twin pumping system, and the disclosure and explanation of the one pumping system equally applies to the other pumping system, and to simplify the explanation, it is described in general as though but a to the oil lubrication thereof, as will hereinafter become apparent.

The concrete pumping piston 104' consists of a cup shaped piston 206 made of suitable metal. This piston 206 has a cup bottom wall 208, a cylindrical side wall 210 from which extends an annular flange 212 having an external diameter substantially equal to, but barely slightly less than, the internal diameter of the cylinder 56 within which the piston operates.

The concrete pumping piston 104' also includes a steel piston face plate 106 secured by-four studs 127. These studs also secure a pusher plate 129-to the inside of the bottomwall 208 within the cup piston 206. A connecting rod 128 is operatively connected to the pusher plate 129 for reciprocating the piston 104'. The rubber piston ring 108 is constructed and operated exactly as in the previous patent, and is mounted on the periphery 107 of plate 106, extending into the rectangular channel 109 therein and has the annular front face 122.

The annular piston cup flange 212 and the projecting periphery 107 of outer faceplate 106 with its rubber piston ring 108 provide a piston ring receiving space 214 in the piston cup annular wall 210 within which is located a lubricant or oil receiving piston ring 216 of felt or other suitable material which will absorb oil coming through the port 204 when in the retracted position and then dispense such oil along the inside length of the cylinder 56. Such action provides a film of oil inside the cylinder wall of cylinder 56, and prevents the wet concrete from sticking thereto. In actual practice, this has been found to provide better lubrication and longer life to the piston 104 and the cylinder 56 than is possible with the water lubrication of the previous patent.

An adjustably metered amount of oil is forced into the cylinder 136 from the oil supply conduit 202 through the port 204 each time the cylinder 104 has been retracted to its extreme position at the port 204 by taking advantage of a cycling arrangement already present, as set forth in the previous patent, such cycling arrangement providing a cycled pressure at the pressure port 218 in the oiler block. Pressure is provided by hydraulic pump 32 operated by the power takeoff 148 and conducted through lines 150 to valves 102 and 138. This cycled pressure through port 218 enters a pressure chamber 220 and actuates a floating piston 222 away from the chamher 220 against a piston returning coil spring 224 extenda ing about a piston movement limiting stem 226 projecting forward therefrom and adapted to abut against an end wall 228 of a block cylinder lubricant chamber 230 for receiving the oil therein through a nipple 232 threaded into an entry port 234 and sealed thereto by an O-ring 236.

A one-way ball valve 238 held against a valve seat 240 about the port opening 242 by a valve spring 244 biased against an apertured lip 246 leading to the block cylinder :oil chamber 230 permits oil to flow in through inlet port opening 242, but bars any discharge therethrough. Once the oil has entered into block cylinder oil chamber 230, it can escape only through an exit port 248 past one-way ball valve 250 biased by coil spring 252 against an exit nipple 254 threaded into the block 200 and sealed therein by O-ring 256.

Leakage from chamber 230 past the floating oil pumping piston 222 is prevented by an O-ring 258, and the floating piston 222, when pressure is released by the cycling arrangement, moves under the bias of coil spring 224 its movement being adjustably limited by abutment with the internal end 260 of a stud 262 threaded in a bushing 264, itself threaded in the end of pressure chamber 220, and locked in adjusted position by nuts and lock washer 266. This adjusts the maximum size of oil chamber 230, thus metering the oil at each injection. The oil feed pipe 202 is connected to the entry nipple 232, and the exit nipple 254 is suitably connected through cylinder port 204 as by way of a cylinder nipple 268. The showing in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7 is of course only schematicany suitable plumbing arrangement of pipes or conduits may be used.

Pressure port 218 in oiler pressure feed pump block 200 is connected by pressure conduit 270 to the pressure line 142 from the solenoid valve 102 (V-l) or (V-4) that retracts hydraulic piston 98 in the concrete pump valve hydraulic cylinder 100, through its piston rod 96, pivot 92, valve arm and valve pivot shaft 86, and positions concrete control valve 88 in connecting the proper concrete conduits from the source of supply to the'conc'rete discharge conduit, as shown inthe previous patent. The piston 98 is advanced by pressure in line 142 from solenoid controlled valve 102. Although a globe valve 88 is herein shown, as in the previous patent, any suitable type of concrete control valve may be used.

As set forth in the previous patent, the electrical control system cycles the two-way valves 138 (V-2) or (V-3) for supplying pressure through conduits 140 to and from the hydraulic cylinder 136 to opposite sides of piston 134 therewithin on connecting rod 128 for pushing and retracting the concrete pumping piston 104', and this same electrical control system also cycles the two-way valves 102 (V-l) or (V-4) for controlling the position of the concrete control valves 88 to and from the concrete pumping cylinder 56. The cycle of commencing to apply pressure to the return side of piston 98 coincides with the concrete pumping piston 104' being at its retracted position, with the felt piston ring 216 at the cylinder entry port 204, whereupon the metered amount of oil in oil pump block cylinder 230 is immediately discharged through the entry port 204 onto the felt piston ring 216.

The fact that pressure may remain in block pressure chamber 220 during the advance of the concrete pumping piston 104' is immaterial, for the entire amount of oil in oil chamber 230 is discharged immediately. W-hen concrete pumping piston control valve piston 98 again advances, the pressure in block pressure chamber 220 is released, floating oil pumping piston 222 moves back against stud end 260 under bias of spring 224, and a new metered amount of oil enters through entry nipple 232 past one-way ball valve 238 under action of gravity and.

the vacuum action of oil pumping piston 222.

In the drawings, like numbers refer to like parts, and for the purposes of explication, marshalled below are the numbered parts of the improved oil lubricated hydraulic powered concrete pump:

32 hydraulic fluid pressure pump 36 hydraulic pressure fluid reservoir 56 concrete sucking and pumping cylinder 86 globe valve control pivot shaft 88 concrete control valve 90 valve shaft arm 92 pivot of arm 90 96 piston rod 98 hydraulic piston actuating valve 88 100 hydraulic cylinder for piston 98 102 solenoid controlled push-pull valve for pressure fluid 104' concrete pumping piston within cylinder 56 106 steel piston face plate 107 periphery of face plate 106 108 rubber piston ring 109 rectangular channel in face plate periphery 122 annular front face of rubber piston ring 127 four studs securing face plate 106 to piston 104' 128 concrete pumping piston connecting rod 129 pusher plate of 104' connected to 128 134 hydraulically operated piston 136 hydraulic cylinder 138 solenoid controlled valves for 136 140 fluid conduits to opposite ends of 136 142 fluid conduits to advance side of piston 98 142' fluid conduits to retract side of piston 98 146 fluid pressure filters 148 power takeoff from vehicle 150 pressure conduits from 32 V-1 pilot solenoid valve 102 V2 pilot solenoid valve 138- V-3 pilot solenoid other valve 138 V-4 pilot solenoid valve of valve 102 200 oiler pressure feed pump cylinder block 202 oil supply line 204 oil entry port in concrete pumping cylinder 56 206 cup shaped piston of 104' 208 bottom wall of piston cup 206 210 piston cup annular wall 212 annular flange of 206 214 felt piston ring receiving space 216 felt piston ring 218 pressure receiving port in block 200 220 pressure chamber in 200 222 floating oil pumping piston 224 coil spring about stem 226 in block cylinder 230 226 stem on floating piston 222 228 end wall of block cylinder 230 230 block cylinder 232 entry nipple to 230 234 entry port in 200 236 O-ring on entry nipple 232 238 one-way entry ball valve 240 entry valve seat 242 entry port opening 244 entry valve spring 246 entry apertured lip 248 exit port from 230 250 one-way exit ball valve 252 exit coil spring 254 exit nipple 256 O-ring of exit nipple 258 O-ring of floating piston 260 internal end of stud 262 262 adjusting threaded stud 264 bushing threaded in pressure chamber 220 266 lock nuts and washer 270 pressure conduit from 140 to 218 Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be van'ously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a hydraulic powered electrically controlled concrete pump assembly having a hydraulic fluid reservoir, a hydraulic pressure means connected thereto, a concrete pump cylinder, a concrete sucking and pumping piston, a first hydraulic cylinder and piston actuating said concrete sucking and pumping piston, a first two-way solenoid actuated valve controlling pressure from said hydraulic pressure means to said first hydraulic cylinder, a concrete pump control valve directing concrete flow to and from said concrete pump cylinder, a second hydraulic cylinder and piston actuating said concrete pump control valve, a second two-way solenoid valve controlling pressure from said pressure means to both sides of said piston of said second hydraulic cylinder and piston for cycling said concrete pump control valve in relation to said concrete sucking and pumping piston; the improvement comprising a lubricant absorbing and dispensing piston ring on said concrete sucking and pumping piston, a lubricant conduit extending from a lubricant source of supply into said concrete pump cylinder, a lubricant pressure feed pump connected in said lubricant conduit, and a cycling pressure conduit connecting said lubricant pressure feed pump to said second two-way solenoid actuated valve to actuate said lubricant pressure feed pump.

2. The improvement of claim 1, said lubricant conduit extending into said concrete pump position at the retracted position of said piston therein, said cycling pressure being actuated when said concrete sucking piston is in its retracted position.

3. The improvement of claim 1, said pressure conduit being connected to that side of said second two-way actuated solenoid valve that controls the retraction of said piston of said second hydraulic cylinder and piston that actuates said concrete pump control valve.

4. The improvement of claim 1, said lubricant absorbing and dispensing piston ring being a felt piston ring.

5. The improvement of claim 1, said lubricant pressure feed pump comprising a cylinder block, a piston floating in a cylinder in said cylinder block providing a lubricant chamber on one side of said floating piston and a pressure chamber on the other side of said floating piston, said lubricant conduit extending through said lubricant chamber, said pressure conduit connecting said pressure chamber to cycled actuating pressure thereto.

6. The improvement of claim 5, and yieldable means in said pressure chamber biasing said floating piston toward said pressure chamber.

7. The improvement of claim 5, and means projecting from said floating piston limiting its movement into said lubricant chamber thus determining the minimum size of said lubricant chamber.

8. The improvement of claim 5, and adjustable means extending into said pressure chamber limiting the movement of said floating piston thereinto, thus adjusting the maximum size of said lubricant chamber.

9. The improvement of claim 5, and means projecting from said floating piston limiting its movement into said lubricant chamber thus determining the minimum size of said lubricant chamber, and adjustable means extending into said pressure chamber limiting the movement of said floating piston thereinto, thus adjusting the maximum size of said lubricant chamber.

10. The improvement of claim 5, and one-way valve means at the lubricant conduit entry to and exit from said lubricant chamber permitting lubricant flow only from the lubricant source of supply to said concrete pump cylinder.

11. The improvement of claim 9, and yieldable means in said pressure chamber biasing said floating piston toward said pressure chamber.

12. The improvement of claim 11, said lubricant conduit extending into said concrete pump position at the retracted position of said piston therein, said cycling pressure being actuated when said concrete sucking piston is in its retracted position.

13. The improvement of claim 1, said pressure lubricant feed pump comprising a cylinder block, a cylinder in said cylinder block, a reciprocably floating lubricant pumping piston in said block cylinder, said lubricant conduit connecting the lubricant source of supply, through said block cylinder to said concrete pumping cylinder, means limiting the approach of said floating lubricant pumping piston to said lubricant conduit in said cylinder block and means urging said floating lubricant pumping piston away from said lubricant conduit toward the opposite end of said cylinder block, means adjustably limiting the movement of said floating lubricant pumping piston toward said opposite end of said cylinder block, said pressure conduit from said second two-way solenoid con trolled valve being connected to said block cylinder behind said floating lubricant pumping piston at said opposite end of said cylinder block.

14. The improvement of claim 13, and one-way valve means in said cylinder block lubricant through conduit.

15. The improvement of claim 14, said one-way valve means comprising a ball valve and valve seat on the entrance and on the discharge side of said conduit through said block cylinder, and a spring biasing each ball valve toward the entrance side, whereby retraction of sai ing lubricant pumping piston under actuation of its said urging means draws lubricant into said block cylinder from said lubricant supply source, and advancing action of said floating lubricant pumping piston under actuation of pressure from said second two-way solenoid forces lubricant from said block cylinder into said concrete pumping cylinder onto said lubricant absorbing and dispensing piston ring. I

16. The improvement of claim 13, said floating lubricant pumping piston having an O-ring thereabout, said piston urging means comprising a coil spring, said floating lubricant pumping piston movement limiting means in the direction of said lubricant conduit comprising a stem projecting from said floating piston.

17. The improvement of claim 13, said floating piston adjustable movement limiting means comprising an internally threaded plug externally threaded into said cylinder block in axial alignment with said block cylinder, a

8 stud adjustably threaded through said plug toward said floating piston, and nut and lock washer means securing said stud in adjusted position.

18. The improvement of claim 16, said lubricant conduit extending into said concrete pump position at'the retracted position of said piston therein, said cycling pres- L sure being actuated when said concrete sucking piston is in its retracted position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,330,781 9/1943 Langmyhr et a1. 103- -204 2,485,208 10/1949 Longenecker l03-'204 3,198,123 8/1965 Wilkinson et a1, 10349 ROBERT M. WALKER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A HYDRAULIC POWERED ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLED CONCRETE PUMP ASSEMBLY HAVING A HYDRAULIC FLUID RESERVOIR, A HYDRAULIC PRESSURE MEANS CONNECTED THERETO, A CONCRETE PUMP CYLINDER, A CONCRETE SUCKING AND PUMPING PISTON, A FIRST HYDRAULIC CYLINDER AND PISTON ACTUATING SAID CONCRETE SUCKING AND PUMPING PISTON, A FIRST TWO-WAY SOLENOID ACTUATED VALVE CONTROLLING PRESSURE FROM SAID HYDRAULIC PRESSURE MEANS TO SAID FIRST HYDRAULIC CYLINDER, A CONCRETE PUMP CONTROL VALVE DIRECTING CONCRETE FLOW TO AND FROM SAID CONCRETE PUMP CYLINDER, A SECOND HYDRAULIC CYLINDER AND PISTON ACTUATING SAID CONCRETE PUMP CONTROL VALVE, A SECOND TWO-WAY SOLENOID VALVE CONTROLLING PRESSURE FROM SAID PRESSURE MEANS TO BOTH SIDES OF SAID PISTON OF SAID SECOND HYDRAULIC CYLINDER AND PISTON FOR CYCLING SAID CONCRETE PUMP CONTROL VALVE IN RELATION TO SAID CONCRETE SUCKING AND PUMPING PISTON; THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A LUBRICANT ABSORBING AND DISPENSING PISTON RING ON SAID CONCRETE SUCKING AND PUMPING PISTON, A LUBRICANT CONDUIT EXTENDING FROM A LUBRICANT SOURCE OF SUPPLY INTO SAID CONCRETE PUMP CYLINDER, A LUBRICANT PRESSURE FEED PUMP CONNECTED IN SAID LUBRICANT CONDUIT, AND A CYCLING PRESSURE CONDUIT CONNECTING SAID LUBRICANT PRESSURE FEED PUMP TO SAID SECOND TWO-WAY SOLENOID ACTUATED VALVE TO ACTUATE SAID LUBRICANT PRESSURE FEED PUMP. 